Study Guide
Grades 10-12, College, Adult
Directed by David Belle and Nicholas Wrathall
Produced by Crowing Rooster Arts
DVD Purchase $79, Rent $45
US Release Date: 2000
Copyright Date: 2000
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-613-6
VHS ISBN: 1-56029-887-1
Subjects
American Studies
Criminology
Ethics
History
Human Rights
Humanities
Immigration
Law
Migration and Refugees
Social Justice
Social Psychology
Sociology
Awards and Festivals
Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award
Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Philadelphia International Film Festival
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
Seoul Human Rights Film Festival
Honorable Mention, South Bronx Film and Video Festival
Stony Brook Film Festival
Crested Butte Reel Fest
Fordham Univ. School of Law, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
Hope & Dreams Film Festival
Louisville Film Festival
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival
The Betrayal of America's Immigrants
Exposé of the horrifying results of the 1996 immigration law.
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"A powerful argument for the urgent need to reform immigration laws." Human Rights Watch Film Festival |
This film illustrates the most recent wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States. Through a close look at the personal impact of new immigration laws, this film depicts the severity of current detention and deportation policies. Lives are changed forever, as legal residents find themselves being torn away from their American families and sent to countries they barely know. For political asylum seekers, dreams are put on hold, as they are kept for years in county jails that profit from their incarceration.
A one hour version and Spanish version are available.
Reviews
"Through intimate, often passionate interviews, and shocking footage of detainees' treatment behind bars, filmmakers Belle and Wrathall build a powerful argument for the urgent need to reform immigration laws before more lives are ruined and more families torn apart."
Human Rights Watch Film Festival
"ABANDONED looks at a 1996 law that allows for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to imprison legal permanent residents and asylum applicants. 'They can't do that,' say the astounded victims of this unjust law -- and so will you."
IndieWire